The Days After Tomorrow
by WolfAtSea
Summary: My attempt at writing a second season. :)


A note before we start:

My version of a second season for the cancelled freshman series _The Tomorrow People_. Might contain minor discrepancies from the plot of the first season, but to be honest, the writers were never close to consistent themselves, were they?

Sorry for stealing someone's idea when it comes to the "running in Central Park" scene, but it made such a fitting opening to my story, I just had to use it.

Not my first fanfic, but the first one I have posted and hopefully the first one I will ever finish. Hope you enjoy, and advice welcome.

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Central Park, NYC (late summer, early fall)

_In the beginning _

It was an early fall weekend in New York City. A cool morning breeze brought a nice break from the scorching summer heat, sending the first wave of fallen leaves dancing under the numerous running New Yorkers' feet. Among them were two men running side by side, one middle-aged and one in his early twenties, both with dirty blond hair and blue eyes.

"You are getting slow, old man." The younger of the two joked.

"Hm, sure. Just wait another twenty years and see if you can do five miles in half an hour." The older man reproached with no malice. The young one quipped back, but almost not noticeably slowed down a little to match his fellow runner's pace. Just then the phone in the older man's pocket rang. "Duty calls."

"Ha, just the excuse you need to stop." The young man smirked.

His companion spreaded his hands. "Might be from the Pentagon."

"Whatever." The young man headed towards a vendor under a yellow umbrella as the older man started talking on the phone and wandering towards the waterfront. He asked the vendor for iced water.

"Wonderful day, isn't it?" Greeted the vendor. The young man answered in good spirit. He then waved to get the attention of his older companion, who was now right by the lake, and pointed at the raised water bottle in inquiry. The older man smiled and indicated a thumb-up.

"Nice of you to be out running with your old man, uh? Mak'im work hard." Commented the vender as he handed over the change.

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, isn't that your dad over there?"

"Oh, no, no, he's not my dad." Smiled the young man good-naturedly, "But I've known him since forever; he's basically family." This admission was a tiny bit weird as he heard himself say it, as if it was wrong, or against his principles, somehow. But it felt nice to say it, so he paid it no mind.

"Well, have a good one, buddy."

The young man started walking toward the pond, but suddenly stopped cold. A voice jerked on his mind. "_John? John! What are you doing?_" It was the voice of a young woman, and somehow a familiar one, too.

"_Who is this?_" His demeanor became tense; his hand instinctively reached for his holster - which he in fact left at home - though it was hardly necessary given what he could do with his… powers.

"_John! It's me. What do you mean who is this?_"

"_Do I know you? Are you a new breakout?_" The young man squinted a little as if he was trying his best to search his mind and figure out whose voice that is. Then he swished around to face a young woman with silky dark hair. She was smiling expectantly at first, but turned somber upon seeing his confused and guarded expression.

"What's happening, John? It's me, Cara. How can you say that you don't know me? It's not been that long. We were…" He wasn't really listening to her anymore. He was looking furiously through his nowadays scattered, if not broken, memories - Cara, Cara, Cara. Do I know a Cara? - until he found a match.

"Ah yes, you are Cara Coburn! You are one of these Tomorrow People!" He said earnestly, "I thought I knew you from somewhere before…" So that explained the familiarity of the voice. But he could not fathom why the young woman suddenly had this mortified horror on her face.

"John, what has happened to you…"

Before she could finish, the older man, apparently having finished his phone call, appeared out of nowhere and gave the young man a cheerful pat on the back, "Hey, what's going on here?" He appeared to be nonchalant, but his eyes were already fixed on the young woman.

"Look, it's Cara Coburn. We found her." The young man quickly supplied.

"Oh indeed, Cara! What a pleasure. We know each other from way back, don't we? John, let us have a moment to catch up?" He extended a gentlemanly hand towards her, but there was something mocking and at the same time dangerous playing in his eyes. The young man obediently stepped aside to give them space.

The young woman started whispering angrily as soon as he was out of earshot, however symbolic that might be. "You! How could you? What on earth did you do to him?"

And came the reply. "Only the greatest thing ever."

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Silver Center for Arts and Sciences, NYU

_So there goes my summer_, thought Stephen Jameson on his first academic day at New York University._ And it went as fast as… as… a teleporting bullet. I should have stopped time._ There was nothing exciting, as far as Stephen was concerned, about four more years of English essays, Calculus problems, crowded hallways and cafeteria food, but apparently Mama Jameson, head of the household, believed in a good old American higher education and was convinced that saving the world and becoming the leader of the Tomorrow People weren't nearly good enough. Plus, he always had to be a role model for Luca, who wasn't that into his studies either. The only good thing about going to NYU? His best friend was here too. At this very moment, Astrid Finch was chasing him down a packed corridor one minute before their class started while posing a very awkward question which, if heard by anyone else, would promptly identify these two as cuckoo. _Man, talk about deja vu._

"Stephen, honestly, did you or did you not read people's minds while taking your SATs?"

Stephen grinned like a Cheshire cat, "Aw, such faith in me, Astrid? And probably you don't really want to know. Plausible deniability and all that, you know? Lawyered." Seeing the face Astrid made, he goaded, "Come on, don't be a sour loser…"

"Someone's in a good mood today."

"Why wouldn't I be? Life is good, Astrid."

"_Your_ life is good, Stephen. You know, playing hookey and still getting into NYU, running the Refuge with _Cara_… What is not to like about the life of Stephen Jameson?"

"For example...the fact that we are heading to Biology 111?"

"God, we are heading to Biology 111." Astrid agreed.

"I don't get it. Why are we taking this course anyway?"

"To...make the world a better place?"

"Biology is for people like my dad and my crazy uncle."

"And people who want to finish their core requirement and absolutely sucked at Physics and Chem?"

"Touche." Two of the last students to walk into the classroom, the friends quickly grabbed the two remaining seats in the last row as if on cue. "Okay, Astrid, here is the deal." Stephen produced from his backpack the 15-centimeter thick textbook, "You, my friend, will memorize this textbook before midterm, and I will just look into that beautiful mind of yours and…"

"Good morning, class. " Stephen never got to finish his great plan before a voice that he most dreaded to hear greeted the class. He looked to the front of the classroom and saw the man he least wished to see - perhaps beside the Founder, given that rumour said he might not be dead - in this whole wide world.

"My name is Doctor Jedikiah Price. Welcome to Biology 111. I have been told that most of you got placed in this higher level course because you got a five on an AP exam, so it shouldn't be presumptive for me to infer that the material covered in Unit One of the textbook is already familiar to you, correct? Therefore, let us start this potentially wonderful year with this problem set pertaining to the entirety of Unit One, due in three days. Anyone having serious problems with the assignment should reconsider his or her commitment to this course. You have two TAs, Alice and Tim, who are not present today, but can be reached at any time through the email addresses printed on the Syllabus. Otherwise, class dismissed." Jedikiah scanned the classroom until he found the boy at the back who looked like he was preparing to bolt, "Stephen Jameson, my office, now."

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"Say, what's the deal with that guy?" commented the first-year sitting to the left of Astrid, "Douchy professor's little pet?"

"No, no, it's not like that." _More like a double agent_, thought Astrid, and that somehow seemed pretty funny, so she grinned, "You see, Stephen here is the professor's nephew. He would have run as far as possible from this class if he'd known his uncle would be teaching it."

"But I take that he would hardly fail this class, then?"

"Oh, I really doubt that. Stephen would probably get the meanest grades possible, as far as I know."

"Ooo, bad blood in the family?"

"You can't even begin to imagine." Astrid would really like to tell the nice-looking boy about all that went down between Stephen and Jedikiah, the war against "Homo Superiors", secret government organization Ultra, the Founder's masterplan to eliminate the human race and all, just to see the look on his face. Too bad she couldn't, for Stephen and the Tomorrow People's sake. Anyway, he would never believe a word she said.

"Well, I wish all the best for him. And all of us. I'm Cecil, by the way." He extended a hand.

"Astrid. Nice to meet you."

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"Why on earth is this happening to me?" Stephen, standing in his uncle and former boss' office, asked no one in particular.

"To be honest, Stephen, I'm not thrilled, either."

Stephen felt the exasperation boiling inside of him. _Should have read the course description page before signing up_, he lamented,_ now I see the importance of it_. _How did I not notice the instructor's name?_ But then, what were the odds? He was pretty sure they were not past the drop date, but then again, Astrid sort of needed this course, and driven as she was, she would stay in a class taught by the man who gave the order to execute her if that could get her where she wanted to go. _We'll see_, he decided.

"That being said, as long as you are here and I am here, I just want to make sure that there is nothing bad between us." Jedikiah seemed genuinely sincere, though God knew what a good actor he was.

"Nothing bad?" Stephens was incredulous, "Nothing bad? Last time I saw you, you just put a bullet in my father-"

"Stephen, please don't." Jedikiah said in his Ultra commander, no-nonsense tone that always made Stephen, with all his teenage hot-headedness, think twice before crossing his uncle. "I did everything I did to save people, and so did your father."

"Fine." Stephen strived to use a calmer tone, "But what is this? A joke? Some part of your new masterplan that is going to end with everyone dying all over again?"

"There is no masterplan this time, Stephen. _We_, together, brought down the Founder, and I threw in the organization I ran for more than a dozen years, too. I guess I'm just retreating to the nice and quiet of the academics."

"I don't trust you."

"Good. You shouldn't." Jedikiah was totally unfazed by Stephen's accusation, "Now onto the main reason I asked you here: do not breathe a word about what happened before to anyone, and I will keep the secret of your precious Tomorrow People, are we clear?"

Stephen looked defiant, but conceded for at the time being, he had no reason to provoke his uncle, who happened to be a professor at his college and someone who knew about his other life. _Blast it_.

Jedikiah seemed satisfied. "And this? Well, NYU is no Princeton, but I work with what I can get, right? One more thing, back at Ultra, I didn't cut you any slack because you are my nephew, and I don't intend to start here and now. So Stephen?" He set down the 31-page problem set on the desk with a loud thud, "Don't blow it."

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_To be continued..._


End file.
